By Marshon L. Robinson

The dust has settled on one of the best series of our generation, yet in the background you can still hear the groans coming from Sacramento. Mumbling of a conspiracy and the Kings being robbed, when its as plain as day that the Kings robbed themselves. With two excellent shots at putting away the champion Lakers, the Kings gave up a 24 point lead in game 4 and simply didn’t have the mental toughness to win game 7. Yet, Kings fans and Laker haters will all conveniently forget these things and chime in about the now infamous game 6 officiating. Right off the top, that was a poorly officiated game, but so was game 5, which everyone also conveniently forgets. If the Lakers don’t get robbed at the end of game 5, this series could have been over in 6 (no one has really thought about that huh). Don’t think game 5 was that bad? Lets’ recap its final moments:

1 - Kings bring the ball down and Webber knocks it out of bounds, but the refs give the ball back to the Kings.

2 - Webber sets a moving screen that knocks down Fisher, giving Bibby a wide open look for what ultimately was the game winner.

3 - Bobby Jackson grabs Kobe’s jersey, but there’s no call. Kobe misses his shot and ball game, Kings are up 3-2.

That doesn’t even cover Shaq fouling out (on that horrible call where he barely grazed Bibby) and the disparity of free throws between the Kings and the Lakers. All of that was chalked up to the Kings being more aggressive. Then comes game 6, where the Lakers, backs pressed firmly against the wall, played with more aggression than we’ve seen in a long time, attacking the basket and playing with a lot more intensity. Both of the Kings big guys foul out trying to guard Shaq and Shaq stays out of foul trouble the whole game. How could this be? Easy. Shaq stopped plowing his way to the basket and started nailing those baby hooks from just outside the paint. When the Kings guards cut to the hoop, Shaq moved out of the way and let them get the lay up. The Kings habit of flopping finally caught up with them as well, as the refs stopped blowing the whistle when they hit the ground, resulting in a couple of no calls at times when the Kings had legitimately been fouled. Just speculation, but I’m willing to bet if the Kings didn’t flop so much, they would have gotten some of those calls toward the end, particularly where Kobe accidentally elbowed Bibby (although Bibby did grab Bryant), but we all know what happened to the boy who cried wolf. And that’s what happened in game 6.

However, all we’ll ever hear about is how the poor little Kings fell victim to the NBA’s conspiracy to hold down the little guy. Whatever, despite the refs, the Kings were still right there and could have won. On several occasions they gave up buckets while arguing with the refs. I blame that on head coach Adelman. Instead of calming his players down, he always leads the charge against the officials, setting a poor example for his team. The great teams ignore the officials and continue to play their game regardless. Webber again disappeared in the clutch (who actually fouled out of the game but benefited on a no call where he fouled Horry, but refs let that go and fouled out Divac instead, but we’ll keep that on the hush as well). The only player who always kept his head in the game was Mike Bibby, who played a fantastic series and repeatedly did what Webber could not and that’s hit big baskets when his team really was feeling the pressure. Even with Adelman crying on the sidelines, Bibby stayed calm and kept delivering for his team and it will be his efforts that ultimately gets this team over the top. Hey he almost pulled it off this year, but wasn’t enough to overcome the Lakers in game 7. If only there had been another superstar on the team to help Bibby in the clutch, somebody like, oh, Chris Webber. Fancy passes and nice dribbling is really cool, but points win games and he’s being paid the big bucks to perform in games like that.

Phil vs. Red

Dear Red,

It was inevitable that your record would either be tied or surpassed. Please get a life and let it go.

Sincerely,

Joe Fan.

Yeah, I know Red Auerbach gives a rats ass what I think, but this is really quite silly. His insistence that Phil is a lesser coach than he is is really just childish. His accomplishments have stood the test of time and won’t be lessened if Phil catches him. His current antics are lessening his image in the eyes of folks like me who weren’t around to see him actually coach. Actually, all of Red’s barking makes me think he believes that Phil is the better coach so he needs to go out and belittle the man’s accomplishments. When the last time you heard Jordan knocking Magic or Bird? As old slang goes, ‘Game recognize game’.

However, being a guy who always knocked Phil’s coaching abilities (more of a Pat Riley kind of guy myself), I was giving Red’s arguments a chance, until I really started breaking them down. His main argument of Phil chasing around top talent, is true to an extent, but those guys won squat without him and while now it seems like those teams were destined to succeed, they weren’t producing before Phil go there. Particularly this current team, which actually has less talent than the clubs Del Harris and Kurt Rambis had. Phil’s ability to work with superstars is a gift that he has worked to the tune of 8 titles and it looks like he’ll be adding number nine in the next week or so. Superstars are great, but they have to be guided correctly to win a championship. Look at guys like Patrick Ewing, Barkley, Malone, Stockton, Payton, etc., etc. All sure fire hall of famers who couldn’t get over the hump, most falling to a Phil Jackson coached team. Some of those teams were better than the Bulls, yet when the game came down to the wire, there were Bill Wennington and John Paxton and Steve Kerr and any other stiff you can think of knocking down the big shot while the Webbers and Malones and Ewings faltered. So yeah, Phil had great players, but he also has a way of bringing out the best in the little guy at the end of the bench. His unorthodox coaching style makes it seem like he’s doing nothing, but it makes the moments when he does actually get up and yell or call a timeout just that much more emphatic. Instead of saying, "oh, coach is yelling again", the players are more like, "oh man, coach is actually yelling at me. I better get it in gear." By letting his players work their way out of jams, they wind up being calm under pressure, much like the Lakers in their last series against the Kings.

I could go on with that angle, but the one that firmly pushed me into the Phil can catch side of the fence was this one. If Phil were coaching the Kings, I honestly think they would have won. The Kings would have triangled the Lakers right on out of the playoffs with all their great shooters and Phil is the one guy who could probably convince Webber to play more of an inside game and give him the confidence to take the big shots at the end of pressure games. Certainly a Phil Jackson led team wouldn’t have crumbled under the pressure of a game 7 in the way the Kings did with everyone scared to shoot and blowing their free throws. Shoot, Phil probably could have led the Blazers to a title too.

So is he better than Red?

I honestly can’t say since I wasn’t around when Red coached, but Red’s campaign against him is foolish.

Is he an opportunist?

Yep

Can he coach?

You better believe it. Heck, he’s probably already beaten your team....

Your Lucky Number is...

The Rockets have the number one pick in the draft and everyone is talking about Yao Ming. I can only pray that the Rockets ignore that talk and either trade the pick to grab someone like Drew Gooden or Caron Butler, who could actually help the team. Sorry folks, but I’m not a believer in the Ming Dynasty. I have a hard time picturing this guy being able to handle Ben Wallace, much less the Big Aristotle (particularly if he keeps taking in those Shaq Packs). Butler on the other hand is the real deal and is dazzling everyone in his workouts with his excellent inside - outside play. Gooden would also be a nice fit, giving the Rockets some size and legitimate low post threat who can also handle the ball and has solid range. This isn’t to say that Ming can’t have a solid career, but he won’t be any teams savior.

We’re also being fed a lot of stuff about Mike Dunleavy, and I’m skeptical on him too. Danny Ferry and Christian Laetner come to mind. The Duke system is made to win games on the college level and it has a habit of making its stars look better than they are. I’m reserving judgment on Jay Williams, given the kids habit of hitting big shots as long as they aren’t free throws, but Dunleavy’s rise to the top of everyone’s lists really astounds me. How can everyone knock Tayshaun Prince and praise Dunleavy when they’re really the same player? Well there is one difference, Prince was always carrying his team while Dunleavy could lean on Boozer and Williams. Dunleavy may turn out to be the real thing, but I think anyone who take him over guys like Dajuan Wagner or Drew Gooden is making a big mistake.

My top ten draft prospects:

1. Caron Butler

2. Jay Williams

3. Dajuan Wagner

4. Drew Gooden

5. Jared Jeffries

6. Qyntel Woods

7. Yao Ming

8. Chris Wilcox

9. Maybyner ‘Nene’ Hilario

10. Kareem Rush